Heater

[moonpie]

Hi everyone, the heater in my car seems to have burnt out. Any ideas re repair/replace?

 

[David M]

Hi everyone, the heater in my car seems to have burnt out. Any ideas re repair/replace?

Hi Moonpie, there are two parts to your heater.
The first is the little "radiator" core that has two rubber hoses attached. They pass through the firewall and into the engine bay.
The second part is the fan that blows the warm air about.
My guess is that this is the part that you are talking about.

Burnt out? I take this to mean the fan no longer works. Burning out of the motor would be accompanied by smoke and a smell that you can't forget.
You need to check the wiring and the plumbing.
Here's what to look for;
The most likely cause of the fan not working is an electrical contact.
Probably, the internal brushes in the motor have worn away and no longer make contact.*
Earth points and the fan switch could also be a problem.

Have a squiz and let us know what you see.
Maybe take a photo.
The more you can tell us, the more we can tell you.

*The whole heater assembly is easy to remove.
The fan motor can be easily removed as well with just a few tools.

Cheers,

David

 

[moonpie]

Thanks David for your reply. It made a strange noise and then a horrible smell. I'm not very good with tech stuff but I'll show your reply to the guy who looks after the car. Thanks again

 

[David M]

Mmmm....
From what you say it seems to be that the bearings inside the fan motor have dried out, (noise) then seized - constant flow of electricity heating the windings and burning the insulation (smoke).
If I am right (you can check the fan motor by removing it, and
Seeing if it turns
Seeing if there is soot in the area when you wipe your finger over the inside of the housing
Smelling it!

Replace the fan motor (because yours is stuffed) with either;
A new one,
A good secondhand one,
(check that the fan spins smoothly and quietly by hand, then check for slop/looseness along the shaft, which is bad) Power it up on a battery to confirm that all is well.
A refurbished one if available

There is some good news Moonpie!
You or your mechanic will not have to disconnect the plumbing and lose coolant.
A simple repair that you could possibly do yourself.


David

 

[mr-reno-139]

Got a spare motor but need to test it first if you're stuck
Let me know

 

[Paul Narramore]

Two years old now but just how is the fan motor easy to remove? Remove the entire heater cover and Y-vents? The three visible nuts on the face of the heater casing? Driving me nuts!!